To Wish Upon A Shining Star
by LordandMaster
Summary: Keitaro makes a wish to understand women. How will the residents of Hinata Inn deal with this problem? -Warning: Personality Shifts and New Abilities.
1. The Wish

_Hey there ladies and gentlemen! This is my first fanfic, inspired by the "Ever Wonder If" story by lucesw. I figured I'd give that sort of story arc a try, but there are a few things I should say here before you start reading the actual story. For one thing, I tend to abhor describing typical anime things like sweat dropping and nosebleeds, even though I do recognize them as easy ways to convey characters' emotions and general feelings. This story won't have any of that, though, because it's not my preference to have those things in it. This story also isn't going to be described as cartoonishly as some others I've seen, which is also part of my writing style. Another thing, is that this is a tastefully chaste fanfic. There are no NC-17 things in here. Perverts get bashed painfully by Naru and that is the LAST thing I want. Lol. Oh – and by the way, I have almost no knowledge of the actual life of a person living in Japan other than what my girlfriend told me of her experiences as a 6 month exchange student and what I've seen of the anime, so everything else that seems out of place is because I don't have the knowledge to make this fan-fiction accurate. Gomenesai, and all that jazz - I'm going to warn my readers now, that there may also be some new out-of-character things, mostly with Keitaro, who will exhibit some personality shifts and special abilities later on and in turn, this will affect some of the other characters. Anyway, have fun reading!_ LordandMaster

-I do not own the copyrights to Love Hina, any other existing copyrights that pertain to it, or anything else that may or may not appear in this story that is not of my original creation. All credit is rightfully due to the persons deserving of it. This is a simple non-profit fan fiction that I wrote on my own time, just for kicks-

_Chapter 1: The Wish_

_**It's just another sunny, winter afternoon at the Hinata Inn, a couple of days after New Years. It's Friday, today. The heartbeat of the combined lives and their effects on each other is evident in everyone's activities: Keitaro Urashima is busily performing one of his many maintenance duties as the Resident Manager by washing the floors on the second-story promenade, cleaning up a gooey mess that one of Su Kaolla's failed experiments left behind. "JELLO TAMAS" she had happily shouted at him. Narusegawa Naru is studying in her room, Su is preparing another fun surprise for Keitaro in her room, Shinobu Maehara is preparing the next delicious meal in the kitchen, Mitsune Konno Nickname Kitsune is sitting in the living room nursing her most recently opened bottle of sake, and Motoko Aoyama is in her room meditating with her sword balanced on her knees, across her lap. Mutsumi Otohime is in her room in a dead faint on the floor, her face in a piece of watermelon, as is one of her typical activities. The whole day has been cloud-free and sunny, the snow covered world outside unblemished in its perfect beauty**._

Kitsune picks the TV remote up from the coffee table while taking another swig of her beloved sake and presses the "on" button. The channel that she first sees as the TV turns on is the weather channel. She sits there for a moment, listening to the announcer's voice as he explains what the weather is going to be this week. Shinobu sighs disappointedly as she prepares rice, hearing that there will be a bad blizzard for most of the week. On the bright side, though, school will be canceled. Kitsune smiles, thinking of an indoor snow fight, and proceeds to channel surf.

As Keitaro finishes making sure the floor is clean, he has the misfortune of knocking over the bucket of water he's using. The water flows in the direction of Naru's room, and he sees the imminent danger of her slipping and hurting herself, so he frantically begins to mop up.

"Please don't let her walk out of her room right now, please don't let her walk out of her room right now," is his nervous mantra.

However, Keitaro's horrible luck rears its ugly head, and Naru slides her door open and begins striding towards the stairs, slipping on the soapy water and landing on Keitaro. The two tangled ronins slide a short distance, Naru with a look of honest surprise on her face as she had done a back flip after slipping that landed sitting on Keitaro's face. (Awwhawww and tell meh you love meh!) Keitaro, taking immediate notice of where his face is, blushes a beet-red while having a resigned look of acceptance because he knows what's coming to him once Naru disentangles herself and stands up.

"So, spilling soapy water on the floor in front of my room, eh? Nice plan, PERVERT!" Naru stands over him with a look of repressed rage, holding the bottom of her skirt down self-consciously.

Without giving him a chance to explain - all he can say is "uh-uh-uh" through his embarrassment - she winds up and decks him solidly in the face with a well-placed punch. He flips backwards, and lands headfirst into the bucket, which slides on the still wet floor towards the stairs, which he cartwheels down out-of-control towards the front door. Su, giggling about how her timing is perfect, opens it for him as he rolls outside. Kitsune looks idly out the window to watch Keitaro roll at a violent speed to crash against a tree.

"Like always." Kitsune smiles, and takes another sip of her sake.

Keitaro gets up, painfully rubbing his back, and trudges dejectedly back into the Inn, wrenching the bucket off of his head as he goes. He walks back upstairs, trying keeping his distance as Naru passes him on her way down, but she clips him with her shoulder almost knocking him off-balance again. Sighing again, he finishes cleaning up his mess.

As evening approaches, Keitaro finds time to study by himself, while nursing his bruises at the same time. "Things have not changed at all, " he sighs unhappily. "But at least now I have some time to study." He forgets his woes for a while as he buckles down and starts working on what is in front of him. Before he begins his work in earnest, he glances up at the hole in his ceiling as he hears Naru moving around above him.

Naru sits down once again at her desk and begins to study as well, thinking about how irritating her perverted RM is.

(RM Resident Manager. I'm refraining from using too many random Japanese terminologies i.e. Baka, Kanrinin, and etc, because it's not my style. I'll continue explaining things like that as I continue to write this.)

An explosion rocks the Inn, followed immediately by a cry from Su, "It's okay, just workin' on somethin'!" and Keitaro sighs exasperatedly. Putting his pencil down on his desk, he looks out his window at the night sky in order to collect his thoughts before dealing with whatever blew up in Su's room.

The stars shine back, twinkling merrily even though he's not, as he gets up and pokes his head into the hallway.

Apparently, Su had been working on some kind of smoke bomb, because the hall was filled with the results of her botched project: Bright blue smoke. She skips on out, taking a jumping leap to tackle Keitaro back into his room, and then proceeds to jump up and down on top of his rib cage, shouting,

"La la la! Everything is fine! Nothing to worry about! Keep studying! La la la!" She doesn't leave, however, and continues bouncing up and down on top of Keitaro repeating herself. (Author's Note: I was listening to "The Safety Dance" when I wrote this part. It struck me as funny.)

Keitaro rolls out from under Su, but she continues jumping in place and repeating her little song. He raises his hand while rubbing his sore chest with the other, smiles, and says, "Thanks for the update, Su, but we need to open up the windows to let the smoke out."

Su nods in her energetic way, and dances her way out of his room, still shouting her song. Keitaro gets up, and pokes his head back into the hall to see if the coast is clear. He sighs again, noticing that Su once again left him to clean up another of her messes, and begins opening all of the windows halfway in order to let the smoke out.

He sits on the windowsill when he finishes, watching the night sky. (In case you're wondering how he can sit on the windowsill, I did a little reading about it and couldn't help but notice that windows in this type of inn slide to the side instead of sliding up.) The sky is clear, a calm before the blizzard that is due to arrive in a few days. The stars reflect off of the calm water of the bath, and he breathes the air for a bit, his breath condensing in the cold air. After a while of watching his breath in the air, he looks down the hall to see if the smoke has cleared enough.

Nodding in satisfaction that it has, he shuts all of the windows and steps back into his room. Looking at his clock, he surmises that he has about an hour more of study time before his bedtime. He sits down to start, but once again finds that he distracted by how clear the night sky is. Suddenly, a shooting star streaks across his line of vision. He smiles, as it is the most clearly seen shooting star he's seen in a long time. After spending another ten minutes of watching the sky, he looks down at his study materials, and decides that he would do well to go to bed early.

Looking one more time at the night sky, he hesitates as he sees a particularly bright star, of an odd magenta color.

He gestures to it. "I wish tonight, upon a shining star," he says aloud. "I wish to fully understand women, so that I can stop making them so angry at me. All this month Naru and Motoko have constantly punished me for my daily mistakes, more so than normal. I wish that one day, I will truly understand how they think, to understand why they do some of the things they do, why they sometimes get angry for things that wouldn't normally upset them. That is my wish tonight, upon a shining star."

He sighs again, and pulls his futon out. He changes into his pajamas, takes off his glasses, and climbs into bed after turning off the lights in his room. Sighing again, he turns his head to the side and looks at the night sky out the window.

"Wishes are just a superstition, but it never hurts to try," he says to himself before falling asleep.

_**Hours pass at Hinata Inn, its tenants and Resident Manager sound asleep.**_

As Keitaro slumbers, the star he wished on shines brightly on his sleeping form. The old annex behind the Inn, its power long dormant, begins to charge up. After a minute or two it discharges its unseen energy into the sky.

A beam of light from the magenta star shines into his room, lighting it up, and a womanly shape forms within it. This womanly shape's features define themselves more and more until a tall, slender, winged woman stands in the middle of his room, wrapped in flowing robes. She looks in the direction of the annex, as though she could see through the structure of the Inn, and smiles faintly.

She turns around and smiles mischievously at Keitaro, as he sleeps, and says quietly, "Your luck is not always terrible, Keitaro Urashima.

Keitaro snaps awake, sitting up. His eyes widen at the sight of the winged woman before him, and he immediately assumes the worst.

"I'm not ready to die!" he says in a hushed, panicked voice.

The woman giggles, a sound like tinkling glass. "I'm not an angel. I'm a Granter of Wishes. When you wish upon the right star, your wish will be granted. There is only one thing I have to tell you before I grant your wish, Keitaro."

Keitaro sits there, his mouth slack in surprise. He finally speaks, "You heard my wish to fully understand women?"

The Granter of Wishes nods, smiling her little mischievous smile. "To fully understand a woman, you must first _be_ a woman. Your wish is one that most men never get answered because of their sleazy natures. Nine times out of ten, a man who becomes a woman would never leave his room. You are different though, Keitaro, you're more innocent than most men, so I shall grant your wish." She raises a hand, index finger extended, and traces a symbol of power out of the air.

Keitaro blinks in surprise at what she said, and replies, "I-uh-I don't think I like the idea of being a woman very much."

She pauses in her design of the midair symbol of power, and frowns at Keitaro. Her eyes, of an indeterminable color, glow a slight purple.. "You don't seem to understand, Keitaro. A wish you make on a star that is granted, cannot be taken back. The wishes we grant are deals that are made for all time, which means you'll be a woman forever. The other thing you don't understand, Keitaro, is simply because you don't know."

She finally finishes drawing the symbol out of the air with her fingertip. She raises her arms and points her palms outwards at Keitaro before adding, "And that would be the fact that you won't remember me. You will only remember the bright light and a single phrase."

Keitaro raises his hands in defense of what is surely to come, whimpering, "What bright light?"

"This bright light."

And then there is nothing but a bright flash of purple light. There is a**_ lot_** of bright light. In an instant, the light is gone, the woman is gone, and Keitaro is once more soundly asleep. He groans a bit in his sleep, his voice no longer that of a man. A voice echoes through his mind, "_You will have this form forever_…"

_**It's Saturday. This weekend is not exactly like any other for the tenants of Hinata Inn, but they don't know it yet. Things go as they always have, Motoko waking up before anyone else does, Su already bouncing off the walls. Shinobu, out of habit and the kindness of her heart, is making enough breakfast food for everyone to eat even though only a select few are awake in time for it. True to the weatherman's forecast, the skies are overcast with the approaching blizzard.**_

Keitaro's clock radio goes off at 8 AM. He rolls to his side, blinking the sleep away and waving a slender arm at the radio to slap the button that turns the alarm off.

…Wait a minute, a slender arm?

(Alrighty, I'm going to refer to him as a girl now, because he's physically a she.)

Keitaro looks at the arm, half expecting it to be Kitsune playing another joke, but she sees that the arm is attached to her shoulder, and when she sits up, there are new soft weights on her chest that weren't there yesterday.

Keitaro looks at her hands, and recalls a bright flash of light in the night that simultaneously woke her up and put her to sleep. She also vaguely recalls a voice, "_You will have this form forever_…"

She turns her hands over, looking at the slender fingers in dumb shock. In a moment of panic, she raises the bed sheets and looks under the covers at herself. Blushing a deep red, she sits up and wraps the sheets around herself, wondering what she'll do now.

Naru woke from the sound of Keitaro's alarm clock, realizing she had fallen asleep at her desk while she was studying. She stretches, working the kinks out of her back that had developed from her slumping over. Looking down at the problems she had been doing, she realizes that Keitaro was supposed to be studying the same ones.

She chuckles a bit to herself, wiping the tiredness from her eyes. "I bet he's going to pop his head up any second now and tell me about the problems he can't solve."

And the Resident Manager of the Hinata Inn does in fact lift the board off of the hole that joined their rooms together, but to talk about a different set of problems.

They lock eyes, Naru not yet realizing why Keitaro doesn't look like what she expects him to look like. She takes in the sight before her, trying to make sense of it. It's got Keitaro's hair, and Keitaro's glasses, but from there it becomes only similarities. The face is nearly the same, but the eyes that peer at her have thick dark lashes. A slender hourglass figure is swathed in bed sheets and pajamas originally intended for men, and two long slender arms hold the sheet in place.

"_This has GOT to be some kind of joke_," Naru thinks to herself, as her face gets steadily redder.

The girl that looks like Keitaro raises a hand at Naru, gesturing for her to stop and listen, and speaks, "I'm in deep trouble."

Naru blinks, and tilts her head. Is it Keitaro? Is it not Keitaro? Just who the hell is this?

She folds her arms and stands there. "I won't argue with you there, because I don't know who you are, but something tells me I should. You're a stranger in my room, so you should tell me why you're in here."

Keitaro adjusts the sheet around herself (used to be _himself_, but not anymore lol) and sits down next to the hole in the floor. She looks up at Naru, and says, "If I tell you, can you promise me that you won't call for help?"

Naru, not quite sure what to make of this request, replies, "You have three minutes."

Keitaro nods, thinking, "_I need to talk fast_." She says to Naru, "Last night I made a wish to a shining star to understand women. A bright light flashed, and a voice said I was going to stay this way forever, and when I woke up to my alarm clock – well, you can see for yourself." She hugs the sheet closer to herself, looking at the floor.

"What's your GPA?"

"Forty-nine."

"Why does your aunt Miss Haruka constantly slap you?"

"I keep forgetting address her formally."

Naru sits down on the floor hard, _wham_, in shock. "Keitaro," is all she can say.

Keitaro nods, remaining silent for a while. Naru, on the other hand loses her temper and screeches a single word in a blood-curdling scream that causes Keitaro to wince.

"**PERVERT!**" She gets up, takes a running start, and punts Keitaro through her door just as Shinobu opens it to inquire whether she wanted to eat lunch. Keitaro collides with Shinobu, and they both bounce off the wall. When the dust settles, Keitaro has already gotten up and rewrapped the sheet around her body, and Shinobu finds herself staring up at someone whose face looks like Keitaro's.

"_That girl looks just like Mister Keitaro…_" Shinobu thinks to herself.

Naru's scream and the thundering noise of two people hitting a wall attract the other tenants, who now all stand in front of Shinobu protectively with their arms crossed. Motoko has her sword with her, but it is sheathed.

There is a barrage of questions, "Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you want? What were you doing in Naru's room?"

Keitaro looks from one to the other, overwhelmed with questions. She doesn't say anything at all, but leans against the doorframe and hugs the sheet around herself. "Please don't hurt me", is all she says.

Naru stalks out of her room, and immediately raises a foot to stomp on Keitaro. _**BAM!**_ Keitaro is sent flying back into Naru's room, and she falls down the hole that leads to her room.

Naru looks at the other shocked tenants and says, "That's Keitaro. The IDIOT made a wish to fully understand women. His wish got granted, so now he's stuck that way for the rest of his life."

The tenants walk to the stairs side by side, heading to Keitaro's room. Within seconds, Keitaro's door slides open and all the tenants stand in the doorway, side by side, staring in shock. Su, the only one who doesn't seem fazed, is snickering with a hand covering her mouth.

A bare arm rises up on the other side of the bed, and then falls to rest on it. Keitaro hoists herself over the bed, the sheet barely wrapped around her. She straightens up, readjusts the sheet, and raises one finger. "Not a pervert," she says quietly, standing up. "I need to put on some clothes."

Everyone else is still standing there.

"I need to change into some clothes…?"

Kitsune slowly reaches out numbly, fumbling for the door and starts sliding it shut, still staring in mild shock.

Naru reaches out and stops her from completely closing the door. "This… _Pervert_… Can't be left alone. You guys wait out here." She steps into the room and finishes sliding the door shut.

She walks towards Keitaro with clenched fists, brushing rudely passed him and stepping over to his bedroom window. She folds her arms, and stands there with her back to him. "Well, hurry up and dress, moron!"

Keitaro hesitates, but sees that Naru isn't going to turn around. She lets the sheet fall from her shoulders, and blushes embarrassingly again as she removes her pajamas, the top not pulling off as easily, as her newly acquired breasts get in the way. After wrestling her way out of the shirt, she grabs a black t-shirt, a fresh pair of boxers, and a fresh pair of blue jeans.

"Okay Naru, I'm done," Keitaro says nervously.

Naru turns around, with her arms still folded, and looks at the getup that Keitaro is wearing. She shrugs, not caring very much about the clothes Keitaro has selected, and grabs Keitaro by the sleeve. She drags her to the door, sliding it open.

-End Chapter One-

_There you have it, the first chapter is complete. I hope it was at the very least interesting, as this is the first fanfic I've ever posted on the internet. This is also the first story I've written in present tense in a very long time, and I figured I'd give that a try since I think I'm a bit rusty. I have three other chapters that I have to edit before I post them, so R&R and tell me what you think!_


	2. A New Wardrobe

_Chapter 2: A New Wardrobe_

The other tenants are still standing there, and they are still in shock except for Su, who is still snickering to herself.

Naru brushes past them dragging a protesting Keitaro behind her, down the stairs, and into the living room. Kitsune is the closest behind them, and she says, "So what are you going to do, Keitaro?"

Keitaro turns her head, replying, "I don't know! I'm scheduled for another mock test to get into Tokyo University in a week – I have no clue what I'm going to do…"

Keitaro starts to panic as Naru turns around, eyes widening, because she's thinking the same thing.

Kitsune peers sternly into Keitaro's eyes and says, "You're going to have to deal with it." She laughs, adding, "The rest of us are going to have to deal with it too."

Motoko finally speaks up, "Well at least the RM of an all-girls dorm isn't a man anymore." She taps Keitaro on the head with her sheathed sword. "You're still a hopeless retard, that doesn't change a thing!"

The newly changed woman stands there, shoulders slumped, taking the abuse.

Kitsune, who was still in Keitaro's face, lets her eyes trail downwards.

"It looks like you're going to have to get used to all aspects, like wearin' a bra unless you want to attract more attention than you need." She giggles a bit, poking a finger into of Keitaro's breasts to prove her point. She assumes the classic thinker's pose as well, and says, "You're going to have to shave too, unless you want to disgust the rest of us."

Keitaro blushes a bit at the poking, and clears her throat loudly.

Kitsune raises an eyebrow, and says, "You'd better take care of it now, because you're gonna need to go out and buy some stuff right away. I'll help you!"

Keitaro raises her hands a little, backing away and putting some distance between herself and Kitsune, saying, "That's okay, I'd rather do it myself."

Naru belts her across the back of the head, retorting, "If you're going to be the way you are right now, you need to think about hygiene!."

The foxy woman nods, beaming proudly. "And appearance too - I'm the best dressed one in this Inn anyway, it would do you some good to have some classy clothes!" She winks at Naru and says, "I've got this one covered."

Keitaro mumbles under his breath, "Hopefully more than you sometimes are." She starts for the stairs.

Kitsune giggles a bit, and slaps Keitaro on the butt. "I heard that! I'll have you know that I'm not always trying to catch a guy's attention. It's second nature to me – I could attract attention in a potato sack!"

Naru clears her throat, giving the back of Keitaro's head another slap as she looks towards Kitsune. "What I meant was, we should let Keitaro clean him… err… her… ah – **itself** off and shave the necessary places."

Kitsune grabs one of Keitaro's arms and lifts it up to peer at the underarm. (SFX: Lion growling. Hehhh… Saw that in the movie "The New Kid".) She winces a bit at the sight, grabbing Keitaro by the shoulders and steering her back up to her room, saying, "I know you have a shaving razor, you can put it to use."

Naru folds her arms, and looks at Shinobu, and Motoko. Su had wandered off a while ago. Naru says, "I think we should call Miss Haruka and ask her-"

Haruka had been standing right behind Naru for quite some time, so Naru jumps when she turns around. "Ask me what to do about Keitaro's predicament?" Haruka finishes Naru's sentence, and continues with an answer. "Now that Keitaro meets all the requirements for being an RM here there should be absolutely not possible reason why she should leave."

Naru raises an eyebrow and replies, "Eh… Keitaro still has the mind of a man, should we refer to him, err… her… umm… **it**… as a woman?"

Haruka shrugs, lighting a cigarette and taking a long thoughtful drag. After a moment of smoky silence, she answers, "Might as well, she may never change back."

Motoko shakes her head in denial. "Keitaro is still the same perverted fool to me; I'm not going to accept it."

Haruka chuckles a bit, shrugging and walking away. "Suit yourself, Motoko. You'll have to deal with it on your own terms. I've said my piece on the matter, so I'll see you ladies later."

Naru, Keitaro, and Kitsune head upstairs to prepare to get ready to go get new clothes, and Su somersaults across the room, announcing that she might be able to lend a hand with the school part.

Motoko and Shinobu both bow a bit to Haruka as she walks away. Shinobu, having been able to keep her tears in check up until now, takes off running to her room sobbing.

Motoko continues to stand there in the living room by herself. She thumps her still-sheathed sword on the floor, and stalks up to her room to meditate.

**_Hours later, the three girls reach the clothing store. Keitaro has been completely silent, trying to come to grips with what has happened to him, while Naru and Kitsune fuss over clothes._**

Naru holds up a gray shirt, showing it to Kitsune, and looks at the size tag. "What size do you think Keitaro is?"

Kitsune thinks for a moment, and replies, "Well, she's about my size, more or less. She's pretty stacked, as a girl, I might have some competition." She giggles, eyeing Keitaro, who is sitting in a chair with the air of someone who has lost her own identity

The transformed woman looks up at Naru and Kitsune, and blinks her eyes. "Wha?" She tilts her head at the exasperated reactions of the two helpers and wrings her hands in nervousness.

Kitsune looks down at Keitaro, and in a moment of seriousness, says, "Your style as a guy was horrendous, but now that you're not a guy your style might improve. For the time being, I think we should only get you basic clothes."

Naru nods in agreement, not saying anything.

Keitaro clears her throat, standing up and gathering the clothes that were picked out for her, hiding the bras and panties that Kitsune and Naru picked in the pile. She nods a bit, swallowing nervously and says, "Thanks." After an awkward silence, she heads to the changing room.

She walks into the changing area, and picks the stall at the far end of the hall, in an attempt to get as much privacy as possible. Locking the door when she steps inside, she sets the clothes on the floor, and leans against the wall across from the full-length mirror. Looking herself up and down for a moment, she chuckles to herself, "At least I'm not chubby or anything." Blushing self-consciously, she strikes a model's pose and observes herself in the mirror.

Shaking her head, Keitaro leans down and takes a couple of shirts, setting them on the shelf-seat and picks up the series of bras, setting them on top of the shirts and separating them by size. "Let's find out how big these things are," she says while looking down at her sizeable assets.

Naru and Kitsune sit in waiting chairs outside of the changing area, Kitsune reading a magazine with the words "New Popular Styles" emblazoned on the cover. Naru fidgets nervously, blushing slightly as she thinks about what Keitaro could possibly be doing in there. After a moment, she shuts her eyes, and clenches her fists, mumbling, "That pervert better not be doing anything he shouldn't." Kitsune raises a finger and points it at Naru, "He's a she now." Naru looks at Kitsune and hisses, "I don't care, she's got the mind of a **guy**." Kitsune shrugs, and goes back to reading as she replies, "Suit yourself."

In the changing room, Keitaro blushes heavily and sighs as she realizes that the bra she is currently trying on is too small. Moving on to a larger size, she recalls Kitsune saying that this is one that she herself would fit into, and tries that one on. It's basically a good fit, but still a little too small for comfort. "_Why did they have to be this big_?" she thinks to herself, cradling her large assets in her hands and hefting their weight. Realizing what she's doing, she immediately stops and slaps herself across the face for Naru. The bra at the bottom of the pile has adjustable straps, though, and it fits just right. Gathering the others back together, she puts them at the bottom of the pile and starts trying on panties. "More comfortable than boxers, I never knew." She pauses, blushing so deeply a tomato would have gotten jealous, and then begins trying on the clothes.

Naru is the first to look up as a still-blushing Keitaro walks back out of the changing room with the clothes in hand. Noticing Keitaro's rosy cheeks, Naru kicks Keitaro's shins out of reflex. "You're such a pig," she says.

The new woman hops around, dropping the clothes and rubbing her shins. "Owwwww! I couldn't help it, I don't see girls naked all day long, you know."

"I bet you'd like that, though," chuckles Kitsune, which doesn't help the situation at all. She still has her nose buried in her magazine, so she doesn't notice how angry this makes Naru. "I take it you found your size, right?"

Keitaro looks around self-consciously and nods, blushing even more. Naru sees this, and balls up her fists, stomping away before she loses her temper really bad and makes a scene. Keitaro sighs, and walks back to the undergarment section to pick out bras of her size.

Kitsune absently puts the magazine down and begins rifling through the clothes. "I was right, her style did improve. I wonder why she picked such dark and gothic colors, though." She hums a bit to herself, still not caring very much, and picks up her magazine to read it some more.

After a couple minutes, Keitaro returns with severall of the appropriate-sized bras and nods at Kitsune to let her know that it's time to buy the clothes and go back to the Inn.

Kitsune puts the magazine back on its rack and snaps her fingers at Naru to get her attention, pointing at Keitaro and then the front of the store. Naru nods in response, and then they walk towards the checkout counters.

And working the cashier they pick, is none other than Mutsumi Otohime.

She looks up at Naru and Kitsune, smiling. She puts a hand to her cheek carelessly, and says, "Hello there! Taking a new friend shopping?" She looks questioningly at Keitaro. "Have we met?" she asks curiously.

Keitaro looks up after setting all the clothes down on the counter, and then backs away waving her arms nervously. "Oh no, but I do get that a lot!" She laughs nervously.

Naru sighs, digging her heel into Keitaro's ankle. Keitaro yelps, which she immediately stifles by checking to see if her shoe is untied, while Naru replies to Mutsumi, "Yes, this is Kei…" She trails off. Kitsune looks at Naru like she's lost her mind, and says, "This is a friend of mine from …Osaka. She's replacing Keitaro as the RM of Hinata Inn. Mutsumi, this is Kei…" She trails off as well, only marginally better at lying than Naru is.

Mutsumi raises her eyebrows. Puzzled, she says, "I thought that Keitaro was going to Tokyo University, why would he leave now?" She gives Keitaro another puzzled glance, wondering where she had seen that face.

Naru speaks up, vehemently, "He went away to discover himself spiritually. He said he wanted to be alone." She finishes, blushing nervously at such a boldly spoken lie.

Mutsumi, as usual, does not pick up on that and nods understandingly. "He does seem confused about himself a lot, doesn't he?"

Keitaro stands there, biting her lip as she tries not to say anything.

Picking up the clothes and ringing them up, Mutsumi smiles at Keitaro and tells her, "Nice to meet you Kei. Do you have a last name?"

Keitaro blinks nervously, glancing at Naru and Kitsune. Their reactions indicate that they aren't going to come to her aid this time, so she replies on reflex, "My last name is Urashima." She places a credit card on the counter, which Mutsumi picks up and swipes, handing it back.

Mutsumi smiles happily, "You're related to Keitaro then!" She hands a receipt for Keitaro to sign.

"Umm, yes, I am a distance cousin …by adoption," Keitaro says. She looks down at the receipt, wondering what to write. "_Oh yeah, My name is Kei Urashima now. I should remember that, it's going to be important._" She scribbles her name down on the receipt, purposefully trying to change her handwriting as she writes it. Mutsumi glances down at the receipt as Keitaro hands it back, but pays no heed to it and slides it into the cash register.

Naru rubs her eyes and says, "Thank you Mutsumi, we have to get going now." She grabs Kitsune and Keitaro by the arms and leads them away from Mutsumi. Once they get close to the front of the store, she looks at them and says sarcastically, "Nice guys, we all lied to Mutsumi. Especially you, Keitaro, nice going, just lay it on really thick and cheese it up so no one gets suspicious." Keitaro opens her mouth in shock, shutting it and opening it as she tries to find words to reply with.

Finding none, she huffs, snatches the bags away from Naru and Kitsune, and exits the store. Shouldering open the doors, she walks down the sidewalk, turning up her coat collar to help against the snowy wind of the blizzard. As she rounds the corner, a clattering of footsteps behind her signify that Naru and Kitsune are running to catch up.

Naru grabs Keitaro's coat sleeve, stopping her in mid-step. "Keitaro, I'm sorry I said that."

Keitaro loses her balance on a patch of ice, and pitches forward. Landing on the ground, she rolls over and gets up, gathering up the bags. "Thank you for your help, Naru." She turns stiffly around and continues walking.

Kitsune and Naru exchange glances, and Kitsune shoves Naru towards Keitaro. "Try again!" She laughs, as Naru slip-slides back towards Keitaro. Catching Keitaro by the coat sleeve again, she regains her balance and pulls Keitaro to a stop. Naru looks at Keitaro's face, noting how much different it looks from when he was a man, and focuses on the eyes. "Keitaro, I am very sorry." She bows her head sheepishly, "I did not mean to say it that way."

Keitaro looks at Naru for a moment, her face devoid of expression. She bursts out laughing a second later, saying, "Wow, that really does work! I wasn't able to do it before."

Naru blinks in confusion, and then realizes that Keitaro had been faking being angry. Or was she? Nah, doesn't matter. She snatches one of Keitaro's bags, and swings it full circle. Kitsune ducks to get out of the way, and on the return the bag slams into Keitaro, causing her to slam into the building and slide to the ground in a crumpled heap. Keitaro sits up against the wall, her hood falling back. Naru and Kitsune don't notice, but Keitaro's face suddenly twists in anger for a moment – it goes away just as quickly, though.

Kitsune puts her hands on her hips, laughing into the heavy downfall of snow. "Like always!" Helping Keitaro back up, and prying the shopping bag from Naru's fingers, she leads them back to the Inn.

-End Chapter Two-

_Tadah! Chapter Two. R&R please!_


	3. A New Identity

_Chapter 3: A New Identity_

When they get back inside the front door of the Hinata Inn, the other tenants were waiting, as they had not moved while the three women had gone shopping.

Su leaps up, tackling Keitaro full-out. "MODELING TIME!" she shouts.

Everyone but Su sighs exasperatedly. Su looks around wondering why they all did that. "What?" she asks.

Keitaro convinces Su to not press the issue of modeling clothes, and Su reluctantly gives in. Spending an hour in her room to think about what to do next, she steps back into the hall, looking for the Molmol princess.

"Su?" she calls, and Su answers with a flying dropkick to the head. "Hiya! Want to model the clothes?" she says.

Keitaro shakes her head, and replies, "I need your help. You're the only one here who might be able to pull it off, so I'm wondering if you can help me get a new identity."

Su tilts her head and says, "Why would you want to do that?"

Keitaro sighs, a vein popping out on her forehead in uncharacteristic frustration. She indicates her body, and Su nods. "OH!"

Five minutes later, they are sitting in Su's forested room in front of her computer. Su starts it up and waits for the Windows XP® to load up. After a second or two, it does, and she logs into MSN Messenger® and clicks on one of the contacts. It pops up, the avatar a picture of a small, brown, scruffy dog with fox-like ears and wide bottomless eyes. She begins typing…

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** hi ed (Yes, it's THAT Ed.)

**Woohoososeksah:** hi!

**Woohoososeksah:** hi!

**Woohoososeksah:** hi!

Su giggles a bit, looking at Keitaro, who sits in her chair with her arms crossed. Su sighs happily, and continues to type.

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** my rm had a sex change and needs new id stuff

Keitaro does a doubletake. "I did NOT!"

Sue looks at Keitaro, and shrugs, "In a way it's true. Besides, it's gotta be a secret, right? This is the quickest way around it. Plus it's more fun this way!"

Keitaro scratches the back of her head, and gives in. "Fine…"

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** can u do it

**Woohoososeksah:** whats the name he wants to go by

Keitaro, reading this, says, "Kei Urashima." She spells it out for Su to type. Su hums a nameless tune as she does so…

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** Kei Urashima

**Woohoososeksah:** k

**Woohoososeksah:** hold on a sec

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** kk

**Woohoososeksah:** u owe meh 4 this

**Woohoososeksah: **i need info for birth certificate

Su giggles a bit, exchanging glances with Keitaro.

Keitaro says, "Cousin of Keitaro by adoption."

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** cousin to himself by adoption

**Woohoososeksah:** does he have names for teh mother

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** nope

**Woohoososeksah: ** what about teh fathers dna records

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** better make it anonymous

**Woohoososeksah:** k one sec

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** kk

After a couple of minutes, a window pops up. Su clicks on it, and a screenshot of the new birth certificate pops up.

**Woohoososeksah:** printing out the new birth certificate now

**Woohoososeksah:** i changed the credit card info 2 so he can keep using his credit and debit cards

**Woohoososeksah:** their database has useless firewalls

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** i know :p

**Woohoososeksah:** need a new pic for school id and state id before i change their databases

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** kk one sec

Su turns to Keitaro, picking up a digital camera that is hooked up to the computer while turning on the lights to her room via remote. She aims the camera at her and takes a couple of pictures, then fiddles with the computer some more.

Keitaro rubs her eyes, trying to get the spots to go away.

_**Molmol-luvs-da-moon** sends Woohoososeksah manwoman.gif_

_Transferring…_

_Transfer complete._

_**Molmol-luvs-da-moon** sends Woohoososeksah sheneedslongerhair.gif_

_Transferring…_

_Transfer complete._

**Woohoososeksah:** wow pretty lady docs did a gj lol i agree she should grow out her hair

Su laughs at that, Keitaro groaning in a voice of growing irritance.

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** is everything set

**Woohoososeksah:** yeppers printing out the ids now

**Woohoososeksah:** im gonna send them in the mail first class overnight

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** kk ill let her kno thx again i will pay u back

**Woohoososeksah:** k cya later then

**Molmol-luvs-da-moon:** ya cya

_**Woohoososeksah** appears to be busy and may not reply_.

Su sits back in her chair, and looks at Keitaro. "There you go _Kei_!"

Keitaro sighs and pats Su on the head as she gets up. "Good job, Su, thank you very much for helping." Su smiles happily, and begins fiddling with her computer more. Keitaro pads out of Su's room, and slips quietly outside and into the hall to bump into Motoko.

Motoko places her hand on the hilt of her sword, slowly beginning to draw it. "What were you doing?"

Keitaro back away, hands already up in surrender. "Su helped me change my identification records, that's all, I swear!"

Motoko stops drawing her sword, and clicks it back into the sheath. "Fine. Don't let me catch you doing anything you shouldn't, stupid retard…" She turns around and walks away. She calls over her shoulder, "Just because you're not a man doesn't mean you don't have to do your duties as RM, so get to work."

Keitaro sighs, and walks to her room to change into work-clothes. After a while, she steps back out with a handkerchief tied around her head, a white tank top, cutoff shorts, and an empty bucket with a dent in the side courtesy of Naru's temper from the previous day. Getting to work, she begins to wash the floor.

Hours later, having finished her work, she smells Shinobu's cooking, walks back to her room to change, then walks downstairs to the kitchen.

Sitting down quietly, they all begin to eat. Keitaro, having lost her appetite since changing, does not finish her meal. Su, typical to her nature, immediately grabs Keitaro's plate and eats what is left.

Kitsune notices this, and nods approvingly. "It's good that you're not eating as much, Keitaro, otherwise you'd lose your girlish figure," she giggles.

Keitaro shakes her head and replies, "That's not why but whatever. I need to study some more tonight before it's bedtime."

Gathering up all the dishes, Keitaro washes them and walks up to Naru's room. Knocking on it before she enters, she finds that Naru is not there. "Ehm…" She sees the board that covers the hole has been moved, so she walks into Naru's room and peers down through it.

Naru, having just dropped down into Keitaro's room, looks up at her. "There you are! I want to talk to you about your clothes before we study." She waves a black turtleneck at Keitaro pointedly.

Keitaro sighs, wondering just why Naru would want to do that, and drops through the hole. Landing next to Naru, she straightens up and gazes at her questioningly.

Naru points at Keitaro's dresser, a pair of panties and matching nylons with garters resting on the top with a note from Kitsune. "What is that?" Her face shows an expression of barely suppressed anger.

Keitaro shrugs, refusing to actually look at the undergarments a second time. "Well, Kitsune brought them in, obviously. I don't plan on wearing anything like that if that's why you're about to hit me." She looks idly at Naru, expecting the blow.

True to Keitaro's prediction, Naru decks Keitaro, shouting, "You're thinking it! Pervert!"

Keitaro rubs her face and stands back up, a temper she never knew she had flaring up. Eyes blazing, she rounds on Naru. She hisses in a seething voice, "I tell you and I tell you but you never ever listen, do you? I-am-not-a-pervert! I must be talking to a ROCK. You seem to be taking my problem really well, too. Kitsune does, Su does, Motoko does, Haruka does, even Shinobu does! NONE of you stop to think about what is going on in my mind!" She closes the distance to Naru with hands on her hips, leaning into Naru's face. Naru blinks in complete surprise, leaning backwards because Keitaro's entrance into her personal space has made her very uncomfortable. Keitaro continues with clenched teeth, "And since you don't seem to care, maybe you should start ACTING the PART!" Sighing a bit and calming down, she rubs her face again where Naru struck her. "I'm sorry, Naru… Let's just study for a while, okay?"

Naru, totally flabbergasted, nods in hushed silence. "_That is completely new_," Naru thinks to herself. They climb back up the hole into Naru's room, and begin to study half-hazardly. After a while, they stop to take a break. Naru watches Keitaro again, and notices that she doesn't seem to be at all angry like she was a while ago. In fact, Keitaro appears to be acting like it never happened.

"Umm… Keitaro, about what happened in your room a little while ago," she ventures quietly.

Keitaro straightens up, and looks at Naru, completely calm and collected. "What about it?"

"You're acting like nothing happened, like you didn't get angry."

"It's on my mind often enough, it just never used to get to me like it has started to. Besides, I have a headache," Keitaro shrugs and leans on the table. "Plus, being your punching bag for so long isn't a good feeling."

Naru's face flushes in indignant shock, her temper rising again. She stands up and sneers, "Well, if you weren't such a pervert…!"

Keitaro looks up at her, noticing that she's about to get violent, and sighs, "I never mean to end up in the situations that happen – Oh here we go again, how far will I fly today?"

Naru, not missing a beat, executes a graceful pirouette as she spin-kicks Keitaro towards the hole that joins their rooms together. Keitaro cracks her head on the floor loudly as she hits the floor and rolls backwards over and over. Reaching the hole but not falling through, she sits back up and rubs her head, "That one hurt." Looking around Naru's room, Keitaro shrugs. "I think I've done enough studying tonight, I'm going to bed," she says, smiling faintly at Naru, putting a hand to her own head, wincing, and then she drops out of sight.

_**That night, Keitaro has a strange dream.**_

She's still a woman. She's sitting up on her bed, and the angelic Wish Granter is standing next to her. "_Who… Wha…_" Keitaro does not recognize any of this, none of it has any familiarity. (I.E. This is just a weird dream to Keitaro. She doesn't recognize the Wish Granter, because she doesn't not remember that event.) The features of winged creature's face are empty, as if it had no face at all. It mumbles something, forms a magic seal with its hands, and an unseen power radiates outwards to fill the room. A male Keitaro slides open the door of the room and enters, smiling, and in a metallic shriek, cracks into millions of shards that get swept away by the force of the power. Keitaro flinches at the sudden loud noise, and then the Wish Granter reaches out with clawed hands to grab Keitaro's face, screaming. Its face looks like its covered in flesh-covered rubber, indentations where the eyes and mouth should be, but it is screaming loudly anyway, a high-pitched girlish scream that wakes Keitaro up in a cold sweat. She looks around, wondering where the scream was coming from, and realizes that it was herself. Scratching her head, she goes back to sleep, mumbling, "What was that about…?"


	4. A New Day, A New Life

Chapter 4: A New Day, A New Life 

**_A week later, the blizzard is finally gone, having left a lot of snow in its wake, and a cloudless blue sky. The plows do a good job clearing the streets, allowing the citizens to continue going to work, going to school, running errands, all the mundane things in life. The Hinata Inn's residents are just starting to get used to the element that has changed. Keitaro and Naru are in their rooms, starting to get ready for school. The underwear, nylons and garters that Kitsune left on Keitaro's dresser have been folded and put away in the bottom-most drawer, never to be used._** No NC-17 scenes, remember? Lol. **_Breakfast is being prepared in the kitchen, everyone is once more doing their usual thing on a school morning._**

They all meet at the breakfast table still in their sleeping clothes (Or put on clothes in case they slept in the nude or something), and they all eat in silence, unsure of what the day will bring for Keitaro. Keitaro, having had the same strange dream every night for the past week and never remembering it, lives her changed life as normally as she can. Getting up in complete silence, Keitaro pads back up to her room to change into school clothes and finish packing her bag.

Everyone else, who has been silent as well, immediately start to discuss why Keitaro had fallen into silence over the past week.

Motoko is the first to speak, "There is something on his mind, and it has something to do with the fact that he's female."

Kitsune rolls her eyes and smirks, "Thank you for pointing out what we already know, o simple samurai."

Motoko narrows her eyes, gripping her sword, but after a moment lets go of it as she can see that Kitsune meant no harm in saying that. She says, "What I mean to say, is that there is a possibility that his personality has changed.

Naru, who is just starting to get up to go change into school clothes herself, nods her head a bit. "Yes, it has. He's letting his real feelings show through now. He said that is how he truly feels because of the beatings we give him."

Motoko looks at Naru, saying, "But he deserves every bit of what we dish out!"

Naru shrugs, and says, "He doesn't think so. He got really mad at me when I hit him on the day after he changed, when we found the underwear that you gave him, Kitsune. I had never seen him that angry before. It made me uneasy."

Kitsune raises her hands a bit, giggling, "Hey, she needs some flashy underwear, all the stuff she bought was very plain and boring!"

Naru bites her lip a bit, remembering how angry Keitaro was, and says nothing more as she leaves the kitchen and walks to her room.

The girls that remained continued to discuss Keitaro.

Meanwhile, in Keitaro's room, she has picked out that black turtleneck that Naru had waved at her, a white vest and a long flowing black skirt. Putting it all on and observing herself in the mirror, she thought to herself, "_This looks like something Kanako would wear_." She shrugs, putting on black nylons and a pair of black boots that she had bought a few days after getting the clothes. Shouldering her bag, she walks down the stairs to see everyone else crowded around the landing. Naru stands by the door, putting on her coat.

Kitsune whistles loudly at the sight of Keitaro, clapping her hands together and lacing her fingers together. "Nice outfit, it screams 'don't miss with me I'm dangerous'!"

Keitaro says nothing to this, striding to the door and opening it.

Naru catches her by the arm, "Shouldn't you put on your coat?"

Keitaro looks at Naru and giggles a bit, "Oh no, but thanks for caring. I'll be alright without a coat, this outfit is layered enough."

The two ronins walk out of Hinata Inn, the other tenants peeking out the door watching Keitaro curiously.

The walk to the nearest public bus stop is a silent one. Barely a word passes between the two girls, Naru watching Keitaro closely.

Over the course of the past week, Keitaro had been getting a headache that was getting worse with each passing day. She rubs her temple now, in irritation that it has gotten worse instead of getting better. "_Probably the nightmares that have been waking me up over the past week_," she thinks to herself. She lets her hand drop to her side as she walks, and looks at Naru.

Naru quickly looks away, but not in time. Keitaro notices, but says nothing.

As expected, Keitaro is stopped by the school security. She shows her ID, and then when she is taken to the office, she shows her birth certificate to show proof that she is supposed to be there for the mock test. After everything is in order, she begins making her way to the designated classroom. In the hall, Haitani and Shirai attempt to catch her interest, not knowing who she really is. She pauses for only a moment, before brushing past them, unable to speak.

"At least give us a name, pretty lass!" calls Haitani. Shirai doubles the cry, calling out, "Could you at the very least give us the time of day?"

Keitaro stops, and takes a deep breath, turning around and walking back to the two goofballs. On her way back to them, she contemplates telling them what happened to her, and decides on a strategy on how to do so.

"You are Haitani and Shirai, right?"

They both nod in response. "How did you know our names?" they both ask at the same time.

"Keitaro has a message for you, I'll tell you after the exam is over." Keitaro turns around, making a funny face at how ridiculous she sounded, walks into the room and takes a seat a few rows behind Naru.

Quietly working on the problems, barely finishing them before the break between sections, Keitaro leans back and stretches her spine over the back of her chair. Taking immediate self-conscious notice of how that may look, she straightens up and looks around. Sure enough, the two stooges were busy trying to look like they hadn't been goggling at her chest while she had been stretching her back on the chair.

The teacher raps his knuckles on the podium and announces, "Break time, be back in an hour and we'll start the second half of the test."

In barely a moment, Haitani and Shirai are standing next to Keitaro's desk, grinning like idiots. Keitaro sighs and rubs her still throbbing temples, trying to get the headache to go away. Sadly, it doesn't. "Let's go for a walk in the park," Keitaro says. The two guys give each other sly winks, that do not go unnoticed by Keitaro. She claps her hands on their shoulders, steering them outside. While walking, Keitaro steers them towards a lone bench away from the path. She points at the bench, and says, "Sit down."

Not knowing what she plans to do or say, they comply. Keitaro folds her arms, hugging them close to herself. She shuts her eyes, and begins talking, "There is no message, but there is something I have to say. Before I tell you, you have to promise that you will keep this a closely guarded secret, okay?"

Haitani and Shirai nod in unison. Keitaro leans back a bit, and sighs, putting her hands on her hips. She leans her head back a moment, then reaches into her backpack. She takes out a pair of glasses, ones that Haitani and Shirai both recognize as belonging to their friends Keitaro. She puts them on, and let her arms fall to her sides.

The two dumbfounded guys stare in amazement. "You look just like Keitaro!" says Shirai. Haitani narrows his eyes, "Those **are** Keitaro's glasses. Where'd you get them?"

Keitaro smiles slightly, looking from one to the other. She says, "I've always had them, because I'm Keitaro Urashima."

Shirai scoffs, "No way, Keitaro's a guy! You're obvious not."

Haitani leans forward a bit and says, "Wait, what if you are Keitaro, what happened to you?"

Keitaro sighs, hugging herself closely. "I wished on a shining star to understand women. My wish got granted, but not the way I wanted. My luck is very bad, I guess."

Shirai shakes his head. "I don't believe you."

Keitaro laughs and says, "So we're not the Four Eyes Threesome anymore?"

Shirai falls silent, in complete surprise while Haitani jumps up and extends a hand to Keitaro and says, "Sorry we ever doubted you, buddy."

Keitaro giggles, "It's okay, everyone who knew me is eventually going to have to find this out."

Shirai looks up at Keitaro, asking, "What about the babes at the Hinata Inn?"

Keitaro sighs, pressing a thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose, adjusting her glasses. She says, "They knew the day after it happened."

Haitani tilts his head and asks, "You still the RM of the Hinata Inn?"

"Yeah, that hasn't changed at all. Aunt Haruka said that I now fit the main requirement for living there, so there is no reason why I should leave."

Shirai chuckles, "Yeah, it's an all-girls dorm! Ha ha ha!"

"There you are!" Keitaro spins around, seeing Naru walking towards them. She smiles and waves Naru over.

Naru looks at the two men sitting on the bench, and back to Keitaro. Not sure if they know that the woman standing in front of them is Keitaro, she addresses Keitaro by his female moniker, "Kei, what's up?"

After a long silence, Naru, Keitaro and the guys all exchange looks, then all look towards Keitaro. She looks at them all, and shrugs. "What?"

Naru, grabs Keitaro to pull her away from Shirai and Haitani, but Keitaro resists, saying, "I already told them, no need to ask." Naru nods, and lets go.

Shirai raises a hand, and asks, "Did your sexual preference change?"

Keitaro raises an eyebrow, blushing. "Of course not!" she says, totally shocked at such a question.

Haitani laughs, and checks his watch. Standing up, he says, "Well, time to finish that mock exam."

As a group they all begin walking back, discussing which problems on the exam were difficult and which problems were easy.


	5. Psychic: Make It Go Away

_ Chapter 5: Psychic - Make It Go Away_

**Weeks pass, months pass, the snow has melted. It is now April. Keitaro has been growing out her hair and it is now long enough to tie into a small ponytail. She continues to fulfill her duties as the RM of Hinata Inn, and for the most part things are back to normal. Keitaro's recurring nightmares stopped happening at the end of January, and her headache had finally gone away a week afterward. Her bad luck still continues to dump her into awkward situations, earning her the usual daily beatings from Naru and Motoko. Each time, she exhibits a growing amount of anger. Today is Friday, mid-afternoon, and it is the beginning of the weekend. The skies are filled with fluffy cumulous clouds, and the weather is fine.**

Keitaro smiles, as she hangs by a rope in front of the Inn, cleaning the windows. Wearing her usual cleaning gear, she hums along with the music in her headphones. As she works, she nods her head along to the music as she makes sure the windows are spotless.

She bobs her head and lip-syncs to the music, "_You… Leave me when I'm at my worst… Feelin' as if I've been cursed… Bitter cold within…_" (Copyright: Dirty Vegas _"Days Go By"_)

Finishing cleaning the windows as the song ends, she turns off her CD player and tucks it into the side pocket of the bag that contains her cleaning supplies. Making sure all of her stuff is secure in the bag, she secures it and straps it across her back and hoists herself back up onto the roof.

The day before, Naru had actually complimented her on how well she's been keeping the Inn clean, so she's been in a very good mood. Walking downstairs to tidy up her room, she notices how peacefully quiet the Inn is today. Su and Kitsune had gone to buy some food, and more sake, and Shinobu had gone out to run a few of her own errands.

The sun shines brightly, obscured by the occasional cloud. Keitaro decides to take a short nap, and walks to her room to do just that.

-Dream Sequence-

Falling asleep, she finds herself once more in the recurring dream that had previously stopped happening. The unseen energy that had permeated her room is now very visible in the form of purple lightning bolts that crackle along the walls. The room is lit up by this energy, and Keitaro cannot help but notice that its source is none other than herself, and the light cast by the lightning illuminates the walls, which appear to be covered in pulsing, vein-covered flesh (Oh boy, Silent Hill dream! SH Fan).

The Wish Granter seems to be cowering away now, still screeching in that shrill voice. Grinning wildly, Keitaro laughs loudly…

Meanwhile, in the room above, Naru hears high-pitched laugher coming from Keitaro's room, and she shifts the wooden board aside to see Keitaro wrapped in her blankets, huddled in the corner. She's laughing uncontrollably, curled into a ball. When she leaps down and lands on the floor, her hair floats away from her face as if it is charged with static electricity.

"Keitaro! **Keitaro!**" Naru shakes Keitaro awake, out of the dream. Keitaro finds herself still laughing, and looks up at Naru with glittering brown eyes. She stops laughing, finally, and looks around in puzzlement. The static charge that had filled the room dies down.

Naru gives Keitaro a hesitant look, and says, "What the heck was that about?"

Keitaro shakes her head and replies, "I don't know where the static electricity came from."

Naru lashes out in irritance and cracks Keitaro across the face with the back of her hand, which causes Keitaro's head to bounce off of the wall. "I don't care about that, I'm talking about the laughing, you moron!"

Keitaro, her long-dormant temper rising again, glares at Naru. She balls her hands into fists, and stands up quickly.

The static energy begins to build again, and both Keitaro and Naru's hair start to stand on end again, and the air around them seems to grow thicker.

Naru looks at Keitaro in shock, as the changed woman puts her hands on her hips and leans forward into Naru's face. "_De ja vu_," thinks Naru.

Through clenched jaws, Keitaro says, "Stop. Hitting. Me." Reaching a hand behind her head to rub at the sore spot from hitting the wall, she grabs Naru by the front of her shirt with her other hand. She shouts into Naru's face, "I DON'T WANT TO GET HIT ANYMORE!"

Naru flinches, hearing the shout twice, in her ears, and strangely, in her head.

Keitaro's glittering eyes glaze over, and she squeezes her eyes shut as she sinks to her knees in a swoon, releasing her grip on Naru's shirt. Naru stares down at Keitaro, her mouth hanging open, as she sees Keitaro's eyelids flicker open, and then Keitor's eyes roll back into their sockets.

Seeing Keitaro's eyes roll into the back of her head, Naru dashes out of the room to look for help. She only takes a couple of steps and turns the corner of a different hallway when she runs into Seta. Ricocheting off his sturdy frame, she falls to the ground, making a small squeaking noise.

Seta smiles down on her, "Hey there, Narusegawa! I'm looking for Keitaro. Have you seen …her?"

Naru looks up at him, leaping to her feet and hugging him. "Oh thank goodness! He's in his room, having some kind of seizure! Something happen in his sleep, he needs help!" She leads Seta into Keitaro's room where, sure enough, Keitaro lies on the floor having a full-out seizure, her whole body quaking.

Seta immediately moves, putting his foot under Keitaro's head to protect it from the hard wood floor, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small strip of cloth, and forces it between Keitaro's clattering teeth.

He and Naru both put their hands up to their ears, as they hear a weird voice in their heads…

(I'm a Stephen King fan, I saw something like this in his book _Carrie_.)

_I'msomadwhydoIalwaysgethititsnotmyfaultITSNOTFAIRnotfairnotfairnotfairOhgodithurtssomuchithurtssomuchmakeitgoawaystopstopstopSTOPSTOPSTOP IneedhelpsomeonehelpithurtssomuchpleasesomeonemakeitgoawayIdontwantthispleasemakeitgoawaySTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP IdidntwantmywishansweredlikethisIhate I HATE I HATE IT STOP IT STOP STOP STOP STOPstopstopstopstopsto… Stop it… stopstopsto…_

At the height of it all, Keitaro's seizure gets very bad, her gyrating body starting to roll over, and gagging on the cloth between its teeth. An odd sort of chorus begins to accompany the jumbled cacaphony words that they hear and yet don't hear, but after a while, the buzzing dies down. Naru and Seta exchange looks, Naru more noticeably worried than Seta appears to be.

Seta smiles and says, "Well, I wonder what that was all about. I think I'm going to have to look into this." Walking out of the room, he sees Motoko standing there, with a hand to her head.

"Mr. Noriyasu, what was that? I heard it in my mind while I was meditating," she says to him.

"Well, Motoko, it came from Keitaro." She opens her mouth to say something else, but he raises a quieting hand. "I'm not sure why, but I will be looking into it. " He turns around and pokes his head back into Keitaro's room. "Narusegawa…"

Naru looks up from tending to the unconscious RM, meeting Seta's gaze.

"Here is my cell phone number. I will keep my phone on, so you can contact me when Keitaro wakes up. I have a few questions to ask him – err - her." He reaches beneath his white lab coat and pulls out a card, handing it to Naru, and then he walks out.

_**Two hours later, Keitaro has still not woken up, and the rest of the residents of the Inn sit in a circle on the floor of the living room. The day is still fresh, light pouring in through the windows.**_

Motoko is the first to speak, "There is more to Urishama in his current form than meets the eye. Mr. Noriyaso promised that he'll look into it, but in the meantime we should keep an eye on Urishama."

Shinobu, eyes watering, replies, "What should we do?"

Kitsune shrugs, answering Shinobu, "For right now, all we can do is continue to do whatever it is that we do every day. Until Kei wakes up, there is nothing else we _can_ do."

Naru sighs, and then glances up at the stairs, feeling that they're being watched, but there is no one there.

**In Keitaro's room…**

She rolls to her side, her eyes moving rapidly beneath their lids. Her lips move silently, mouthing various phrases, "_There is more to Keitaro than meets the eye… What should we do - for right now, all we can do is continue to do… Until Kei wakes up, there is nothing…_"

Author's Note: Am I doing a good job with this? I know it has deviated a lot from the original Love Hina story arc, but I rather like it. R&R please!


	6. Notice

This story's updates have been put on hold, I'm afraid, and have been that way for quite some time. Only now am I able to say so, since I had no internet for a time. I also did not have any access to a computer that did have internet capability. Updates on this story will be few and far between, as I have many real-life things to deal with at present. There will be another update, though, and hopefully soon.

L&M


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